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GZA district office manager John Murphy stands in the lobby of GZA GeoEnvironmental's new office in Bedford, which is nearly twice the size of the firm's former office. (CASSIDY SWANSON/Union Leader correspondent)

GZA GeoEnvironmental moves to Bedford

By CASSIDY SWANSONUnion Leader correspondent

BEDFORD — Environmental and geotechnical firm GZA GeoEnvironmental has moved its base of operations in New Hampshire from Manchester to Bedford, expanding its office space and overall presence in the Granite State.';We love it here in Bedford,'; said John Murphy, district office manager at GZA Bedford. ';It's a great community, a great space, and we're very happy to be here.';

Murphy, of Derry, said the firm had been in its Manchester office for 20 years and outgrew the space. GZA's new office, at 5 Commerce Park North is almost double the size of the Manchester office and allows for the continued growth of GZA's core service areas, including environmental, geotechnical, ecology, water resources and construction management.';It has new technology for our staff and just provides facilities to help expanding our practices across the board,'; Murphy said on Thursday. ';It'll also help tie together our operations in northern New England,'; which includes offices in Keene and Portland, Maine.According to Murphy, GZA, based in Norwood, Mass., provides a variety of engineering, consulting and construction management services for its clients. The company employs about 550 people in 26 offices. The Bedford office is the second largest after Norwood, employing 40 engineers.Murphy said that the company is seeing significant growth in all practice areas as the economy continues to improve.

';Our fiscal year ending 2014 was our most profitable year ever,'; he said. ';We're seeing expansion in a number of different areas. We're making not only organic growth internally with strategic hires, but we've also made several acquisitions in the last several years, with an expanded effort in new practice areas.';Murphy said GZA is looking to expand further into the Midwest, especially in oil and gas.

On the home front, Murphy said the company is hiring new staff for the Bedford office.

';We're looking to grow and expand not only our core services, but also look into new services to provide solutions to our clients,'; he said. GZA hopes to hire civil, environmental, geotechnical and chemical engineers, as well as environmental scientists, hyrdrogeologists, natural resource scientists, and construction professionals with experience in management.';We're seeing tremendous growth in the ecological area…and also the construction management area,'; Murphy said.

Murphy said GZA has alreaded started to get involved in its new community, getting to know the area and giving back.';We have several staff that are involved with regional activities, and we want to try ';We've crossed the river from Manchester to Bedford, and we obviously have close ties to Manchester, and those will remain, but we're trying to expand those ties more into Bedford and get more involved with the community here to help out,'; Murphy said. ';We have a focus on giving back as part of our sustainability program through charitable donations, volunteering or providing support as needed.';GZA already supports the March of Dimes, the Salvation Army, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the New Hampshire Food Bank.

';We also support many other groups, events and organizations throughout the year,'; Murphy said. ';We are getting settled into our new updated space here in Bedford and look forward to learning about new opportunities to support the Bedford community.';The opening of this new office in Bedford is another step in GZA's ongoing growth, Murphy said.

';I've been with the company 26 years, I've seen it evolve over that period, and it continues to expand and grow,'; he said. ';We try and provide innovative solutions to our clients, and we're the leading engineering firm in the state. We continue to try to do what we can to help the local community. We all live here, work here, and play here in New Hampshire….Any time we can help out, we do.';For more information on GZA, contact Murphy at 232-8712 or email john.murphy@gza.com.